Naive Arsenal panic because Arsene Wenger has left them exposed

Perhaps the most concerning element of Arsenal’s malaise is that a manager with such intelligence continues to preside over a team this naive.

Arsenal threw away a lead for the second time in a week due to a collective absent-mindedness that has to include Arsene Wenger because it extends back to his summer transfer policy.

There was further evidence here at the Liberty Stadium of the folly in allowing Thomas Vermaelen to leave for Barcelona without buying a replacement centre-back.

Nacho Monreal was beaten by substitute Bafetimbi Gomis for the winning goal — a mismatch waiting to happen and, as it turned out, it only took two minutes after the Swansea striker’s introduction to materialise.

Monreal is clearly uncomfortable at centre-back and following on from his poor performance in the capitulation against Anderlecht, the footballing cost of the financial decision not to bring in another defender is beginning to mount up in a manner which should make Wenger feel uncomfortable.

Similarly, Gylfi Sigurdsson’s equalising free-kick was a moment of sublime beauty but it arose because the other long-standing gap in Arsenal’s team has still not been plugged.

Mathieu Flamini again struggled to provide adequate protection as a defensive midfield shield and he was caught out of position as Modou Barrow drove into the space, forcing Kieran Gibbs into conceding the free-kick from which Sigurdsson struck.

Wenger often dismisses the idea that the transfer market can cure all ills as overtly simplistic but failing to strengthen those two areas is again threatening to lower Arsenal’s aspirations from first place to third.

What compounds the problem is a lack of maturity in their play that is preventing their attacking talent from proving the decisive factor in games.

Against Anderlecht and Swansea, the catalyst for change was, to a degree, out of their control. For Sigurdsson’s marvellous dead-ball effort yesterday, read Anthony Vanden Borre’s first goal for Anderlecht, a clear error from the officials in failing to flag for offside.

Swansea City v Arsenal: Player Ratings

Swansea City v Arsenal: Player Ratings

1/23
Lukasz Fabianski: 6

Made some important blocks in difficult conditions against his former club.

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2/23
Angel Rangel: 5

Was given a difficult afternoon by the Arsenal forward line.

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3/23
Kyle Bartley: 6

Former Arsenal man slotted in well to the Swansea defence.

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4/23
Ashley Williams: 7

The Swansea captain recovered from an early injury scare to lead his team to victory.

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5/23
Neil Taylor: 6

Looked good going forward, but struggled at the back against Arsenal's pace.

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6/23
Ki Sung-Yueng: 6

Was less influential after receiving a first half booking.

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7/23
Tom Carroll: 5

The young Tottenham loanee struggled to make a real impact.

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8/23
Marvin Emnes: 6

A typically erratic performance, he passed up a good first half opportunity to score.

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9/23
Gylfi Sigurdsson: 7

Was kept quiet for long periods by Flamini, but produced a sensational free-kick to turn the game on its head.

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10/23
Jefferson Montero: 9

Swansea's best player, his pace and power troubled Arsenal all game and he set up Gomis brilliantly for the winner.

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11/23
Wilfried Bony: 6

Battled well, but is struggling to recapture his goalscoring threat of last season.

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12/23
Bafetimbi Gomis: 7

Headed the winning within seconds of coming off the bench.

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13/23
Wojciech Szczesny: 5

Had no chance with either Swansea goal, but often looked nervous in dealing with a wet ball.

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14/23
Calum Chambers: 6

Started very well, but epitomised his side's loss of composure late on.

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15/23
Per Mertesacker: 5

Struggled when conditions worsened in the second half.

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16/23
Nacho Monreal: 5

Still fails to convince as he's shunted around the Arsenal back-line.

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17/23
Kieran Gibbs: 6

Given a very difficult game by Montero, but kept going to the end.

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18/23
Mathieu Flamini: 7

Did an excellent job in keeping Sigurdsson quiet for 70 minutes, but then ran out of steam.

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19/23
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 8

His pace was a constant handful for the Swansea defence.

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20/23
Aaron Ramsey: 6

The midfielder looked short of match fitness on his return to Wales.

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21/23
Santi Cazorla: 6

His influence on the game diminished after being crocked by Williams early in the second half.

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22/23
Alexis Sanchez: 7

Scored his side's goal and oozed class when involved, but was often on the periphery of the game.

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23/23
Danny Welbeck: 7

Combines brilliance with the bizarre inside the box, but never stops working.

Even last season, when Arsenal were forging clear at the top of the table, they reacted to such situations with clarity and composure. Now, they resemble of flock of pigeons scrambled by a passing car.

The finest sides are intelligent exponents of game management. Arsenal, despite the experience in their ranks, continue to lack this important skill. Both when taking the lead and then afterwards when conceding the first goal against Anderlecht and Swansea, the response should have been clear: keep the ball, stay compact and nullify any momentum the opponents have created.

In the event, Arsenal had seven players ahead of the ball when losing possession in the move that led to Swansea’s equaliser.

Arsenal’s attacking potential is obvious and they sit only one point outside the top four with qualification for the Champions League knockout stages in their own hands. But while this naive trait could previously be explained by a reliance on youth born from financial constraints, Wenger has no such excuse any more.

The Gunners have the cash to compete but continue to lack efficiency in defence and attack. Given Monreal’s difficulties and Calum Chambers struggling to cope with the lively Jefferson Montero, there is a case for arguing whether Hector Bellerin should have played at right-back with Chambers deployed at centre-half alongside Per Mertesacker.

But regardless of personnel — even mitigating for the notable loss of Laurent Koscielny — Arsenal are not playing with sufficient footballing acumen to challenge for the title. The mistakes are too familiar, too frequent and too obvious.

They may be get away with it and retain a top-four place but the margin to leaders Chelsea and a genuine title challenge already looks ominous. And, after winning the FA Cup in May, bridging that gap was supposed to be what this season was all about.